With the Whitechapel murders going unsolved and Sherlock Holmes being refusedaccess to Scotland Yard's case files due to infuriation caused by John Watson'sstories tending to belittle the efforts of officialdom in favour of Holmes,John Watson makes a plea for Sherlock to be granted conditional access to theinformation. Up against mountingcriticism from all directions, Lestrade grants the request and Sherlock is ableto see a series of clues in letters which had been put down to nuisance sources,as well as discovering the possibility of a victim, the first, who had survived. Meanwhile, a friar with critical informationhad been sent packing from Scotland Yard for being yet another crank but, onthe advice of an unnamed detective, made his way to Sherlock Holmes to alerthim of threats of violence toward women made by another friar, one who hadsince left the friary. Hoping to entrap the Ripper, the group locates the first victim andengages the help of a journalist to plant information in his newspaper toprovoke the Ripper into a response.Using Sherlock's powers of perception and a little psychology, the grouplures the Ripper to a fateful encounter but Mycroft, in his official capacity and fearing abacklash against the monarchy and the disruption of public order, jumps in atthe end quashing all reports . Watson broods on thefact that he has been denied a great story but Sherlock consoles him andassures him that Jack the Ripper will be forgotten in a very short time andthat he should clear his mind for something better.